The Shadow Twins
by Artimus Knyght
Summary: I hope you enjoy my new story. Rated for safety. If you think the rating is off let me know. Please read and review.
1. Waiting

I do not own Dragon Age or any of the characters, I wish did, then I'd be rich.

Please read and review.

Waiting

The two Cousland rouges circled each other, watching for an opening, a weakness. They knew each other well, as well they should since they were twins. Tamara and Taren were the pride and joy of Highever and its tournaments. They were nicknamed the Shadow Twins by their people, because they could blend into the shadows on one side of the arena and attack from the shadows on the other side. No one quite knew how they pulled off this trick, not even their family, and it was one of the Twins most closely guarded secrets. It had started when they were ten and received their unusual hair colour.

When they were ten the mage had come to test them. While unlikely that they would be magi despite not showing any magic by that point in time, it was still required to clear any doubt. Their best friend Rory had slipped into the room as the mage left to tell their parents that they weren't magi. It was he who had spotted the glowing blue bag the mage had left behind. They opened it and found many phials filled with gleaming blue liquid. Rory had dared them to drink it all and, being kids, they never backed down from a dare, so they each drank half of the bags contents.

The mage had returned with their parents to find both twins unconscious on the floor. The mage had immediately gone about helping them while their father questioned Rory, who could only point at the mage's now empty bag while shaking in fear. They had been unconscious for days. They woke up alone and confused and when they looked at each other they shrieked in surprize. Their eyes had changed, becoming electric blue and almost sparking with lightning, but it was their hair that had changed the most. Each of them had bright blue shimmering hair; the way it gleamed almost made it seem alive.

It hadn't taken them long to figure out that they could dim their hair to a dark blue, which was much better for sneaking around, nor had it taken long for them to realise that they could now sense the mage, as well as any mage. Their biggest shock came two weeks later however.

They had been walking down a corridor that they shouldn't have when they saw they father turn the corner. He hadn't seen them yet so they had pressed themselves against a shadow on the wall and prayed to be anywhere but there. One second they were in a corridor, the next they were standing in a dark corner of their bedroom. They could literally disappear in one shadow and reappear in another. They had spent years cultivating their new skills, but they never told their parents, afraid of being labelled as different, but that didn't matter now, none of it did.

Howe had betrayed their family and attacked Highever. Thankfully Duncan had been there or the twins would have died that night the same as their parents. They had travelled south to Ostagar to become Grey Wardens and fight in a battle they thought they'd never see, or so they thought. Now on the orders of the king they were to light a beacon instead.

So here they were, circling each other, training while Alistair watched from the side lines, counting down the minutes before the battle would start and they would head off for the tower of Ishal. They had gone into the Korcari wilds earlier to procure some Darkspawn blood and the Grey Warden treaties. While there they had come across a beautiful apostate woman dressed in rags who introduced herself as Morrigan. Taren had noticed that his sister couldn't keep her eyes off of her.

That was another thing that they had never told their parents, Tamara was gay. She had come out to her twin brother when she was fourteen, but she had been scared about how her parents would react. Her parents were very loving people, but neither twin knew exactly where they stood on homosexuality. Taren knew that she had experimented when she was younger with their bisexual noble friend Alfstanna, before Alfstanna fell in love with her current fiancé; he was at Ostagar too somewhere. Taren had tried getting her to tell their parents, but she had been too scared. Especially because they were twenty years of age and their mother was trying to set her up with every male noble in Ferelden.

Once they had returned from the wilds, they had gone to wait for the joining ceremony to begin; of course Tamara had gone to the kennels first to help with one of the sick dogs. The other two recruits that had gone with them into the wilds had died during that ceremony, but the twins had lived.

Now they were waiting, circling each other, looking for fastest way to take the other door. They were about to leap at each other when a soldier ran up to them.

"The battle is about to commence," he said, standing to attention, "all soldiers and Grey Wardens are to be at their posts." With that said he raced off to find his own post. Tamara and Taren looked at each other before they shrugged and sheathed their weapons. Tamara was wielding a dagger and the family sword, while her brother was fighting with a dagger and a sword with the family shield strapped to his back. Alistair stood up from his position and followed them over to the bridge that would take them to the tower of Ishal.

They reached the bridge and looked down just as the kings army met with the Darkspawn. The twins looked on in concern, their brother, Fergus, was down there somewhere, fighting monsters, still unaware that his wife and son were dead, as were his parents. They fingered their Cousland signet rings, relieved that they had sent out messages to their allies, warning them about Howe's treachery, hopefully it would be enough. They had also sent a warning to the guards stationed at Highever estate in Denerim ordering them to lock the gates and refuse entrance to all but their strongest allies.

The twins looked across the bridge and up at the tower of Ishal. It was time to move.

* * *

So, tell me what you think, please. Sorry if its a bit short, hopefully the chapters will be longer from now on.


	2. Fight Through The Tower

Whoops, put the wrong chapter up by mistake, it's ok though, this is the right one.

I do not own Dragon Age.

Fight Through The Tower

Tamara and Taren stared across the bridge, waiting for the right moment to run, as the Darkspawn were launching flaming projectiles at the ruins. Alistair wasn't the smartest person though and he ran out onto the bridge. The twins raced after him and Taren managed to yank him back by the arm just before the ground in front of him exploded.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?" Taren yelled at him over the noise of the battle below, "YOU COULD HAVE BEEN SQUISHED!"

"TAREN!" Tamara yelled, her voice almost lost in the noise, "YOU CAN FLAY HIM ALIVE LATER! WE'VE GOT TO GO!" Taren released his grip on Alistair's arm, and hurried after his sister, keeping a constant eye on the incendiary missiles, Alistair close behind him. They made it to the other side and sighed in relief. As they approached the gates to the tower of Ishal a guard and a mage came running towards them.

"You," the guard stated, running up to them, "you're the Grey Wardens, right?" all three nodded, "You need to help, the tower has been taken."

"What do you mean? How could the tower be taken?" asked Alistair, flummoxed by what they had heard.

"The monsters burrowed up through the floor, we were no match," the mage explained.

"We need to get to the top of the tower," said Alistair.

"He's right," agreed Taren, nodding his head, "if we don't light that beacon, everyone in that valley will die."

"Then let's get going," smirked Tamara, drawing her blades. One spell from the mage later and they were on fire. Running off towards the fighting, she didn't even turn around when her brother called after her.

"Well, we'd better get going before she hogs all the good Darkspawn," Taren laughed as he drew his own now flaming weapons and racing after her. Alistair shook his head before sending the soldier to report to Duncan and beckoning the mage on with him.

The fight through the courtyard was a breeze for the new Wardens, Alistair could hear them laughing as they cut through the tainted monsters, saving other soldiers as they went. It was fun for them, but it was more than that. When they fought they could forget the horrors that they had already lived through. When they fought there was nothing but them and their opponent.

They entered the tower and almost choked on the stench of death and corruption. There was blood everywhere and bodies were piled against the walls and under barricades. The group edged forwards, wary of traps and ambushes. Two of the soldiers from the courtyard had accompanied them and were covering the rear.

Tamara's hands shot forward and she tapped Taren and Alistair, who were in front, on their shoulder guards with her blades. They stopped and she slipped between them. She crouched down and started fiddling with something that only she could see, though Taren quick realised what she was doing and then he could see it too.

"What's she doing?" Alister asked under his breath.

"She disabling a trap," Taren whispered back

"How come you didn't see that?" Alistair whispered.

"She better at making and spotting traps, I'm better at making poisons and antidotes," Alistair nodded and looked about, checking for enemies. They heard a snap and a sigh, Tamara looked up at the others and gave a swift nod. At that moment they heard a Darkspawn roar and one of the soldiers from behind ran forward.

"No, wait!" Tamara exclaimed, but too late. The trap was merely to release a flammable liquid onto the floor. The Darkspawn shot a flaming arrow at the barrel containing the liquid and it exploded, just as the soldier was passing it. The man was flung forward and his burnt body was impaled on one of the barricades.

The others surged forwards, killing all the Darkspawn in their way. They came across a room with a giant hole in the floor. Alistair leaned over it, trying to see the bottom, but Tamara grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and dragged him back. They made it to the second floor and paused, giving the mage and soldier time to catch their breath.

"Maker's breath!" Alistair whispered, they could feel the Darkspawn presence in the tower and didn't want to draw their attention until they were ready for it, "what are the Darkspawn doing in the tower? There shouldn't have been any resistance here."

"You could try telling them that they're in the wrong place," Tamara suggested with a smirk.

"Sure, because this is obviously just a misunderstanding. We'll laugh about this later," he mock glared at her, but she just laughed under her breath.

"Weren't you complaining that we wouldn't get to fight?" Taren asked, lifting an eyebrow in Alistair's direction, whose face became thoughtful.

"Huh, I guess there is always a silver lining," he said before shaking his head and focusing, "in any case we need to light that signal. Without it Loghain won't know when to charge." The twins nodded at him and motioned to the mage and soldier that they were moving. They slaughtered the Darkspawn and made their way to the third level. They came across a room with caged mabaris in as well as Darkspawn. They were starting to get tired and now more than ever they could feel the strain that their weapons had on their arms.

Tamara faded into a shadow next to the door and reappeared from the one behind the lever that opened the cages. She gripped the lever and pulled it down, releasing the hounds. She found it satisfying to watch as the dogs tore the Darkspawn apart. They moved on, Tamara whistling for the dogs to follow.

Finally they made it to the steps leading up to the top floor. They ran up them and towards the fireplace when a sight that the twins wished they had never seen stopped them. Crouching beside the signal fire, eating the bodies of the soldiers who had died trying to kill it, was an Ogre. It had obviously heard them because it turned to look at them, dropping its current meal, and it roared, and then it started to charge.

They scattered and tried to regroup, but the Ogre was determined not to let that happen. It reached out and grabbed the other guard as he ran by and tossed him at the mage. The mage had been standing in front of one of the windows, casting spells at the beast, when the soldier was thrown and hit him, propelling them both out of the window and down into the battle below.

The three Wardens were darting around the Ogre's feet, cutting at its legs, arms and as much of its torso as they could, but it wasn't enough. It flailed it arms about and caught Tamara, sending her flying backwards. She was a little disorientated, but she got back up and gave her head a shake. She looked back at the fight and saw the shield on her brothers back. That gave her an idea. She took a deep breath and gripped her weapons tight.

"TAREN!" Taren looked over his shoulder at her and realised what she was about to do. He knelt down and braced himself as he heard his sister whistle, trying to get the Ogres attention. She ran forward as the Ogre turned around to face her. She leapt onto the shield and, using it like a platform, she launched herself towards the Ogre. She stabbed it through the chest with her blades, the force of the impact forced the Ogre backwards and it fell on its back. She yanked her weapons out of its chest and drove her sword into the head, killing the giant Darkspawn. She pulled the sword out and stood up, then jumped backwards off of the monster.

Taren was there to catch his sister and make sure she was ok. Alistair hurried over to light the beacon while the twins went to watch the battle below from the now open window. Alistair joined them as soon as the signal had been sent, just in the nick of time too. The battle wasn't going so well for the Grey Wardens, but thankfully Loghain would be signalling his troops to march and attack the Darkspawn from behind.

As the minutes dragged by they started to get worried. There was no sign of Loghain, he wasn't answering the signal. Loghain and his men should have been charging over the hill to the rescue by now, but he wasn't. They stood there watching the Darkspawn overwhelming the Grey Wardens feeling helpless.

They heard movement coming from the stairs and felt the Darkspawn coming. They drew their now extinguished weapons, but were quickly taken down by Darkspawn archers. The twins last conscious thought was that they had failed and then they knew nothing.

* * *

Reviews please. I would greatly appreciate them.


	3. In The Wilds

Let's get this over with. I do not own Dragon Age.

In The Wilds

Tamara woke up to the feeling of lying on a bed of rich furs and, for a brief moment, thought she was still at Highever castle, that everything that had happened had just been a nightmare, but then she opened her eyes and saw she was in a room that she had never seen before. She started to sit up, but was stiff. She realised that she was covered in bandages, but wearing no clothes. She pushed herself up and looked to the other side of the bed. Taren lay there in the same state as her. She didn't blush, she had seen it all before, when they were younger and their mother and Nan had bathed them together.

She nudged him in the shoulder and hissed at him to wake up. He did so groggily while she observed the rest of the room. Standing by a bookcase was Morrigan, the woman from the Wilds, and Tamara realised that that is where they must be. Morrigan obviously heard movement because she turned around to look at them.

"Ah," she said brightly, "I see that you are finally awake."

"Morrigan, what happened?" Tamara asked, the last thing she remembered was the Darkspawn attacking them at the top of the tower. 'How had they survived?' she thought to herself.

"Do you not remember?" she asked, concerned about possible memory loss.

"I remember the Darkspawn," Tamara shook her head and remembered what she had seen before that, "What happened to the King and the army?" she asked urgently.

"The man who was supposed to answer your call quit the field," Morrigan said solemnly, "those he abandoned were massacred. Your friend, he is not taking it well."

"You mean Alistair?" asked Taren, shaking the last of the cobwebs away and realising his state of undress, grabbed one of the furs and dragged it over his lap.

"There is no need to be embarrassed," Morrigan chuckled mirthlessly, "Tis nothing I have not seen before," she looked Tamara up and down and noted that she did not blush or attempt to hide herself, "for either of you."

"Mother would like to speak to you outside when you are ready," she said. Tamara nodded and got up to get dressed into her armour. Morrigan huffed and turned around when Taren, who still hadn't moved, raised an eyebrow at her. Once they were both dressed, Morrigan turned back to them.

"We shall go see your mother then," Taren stated as he headed for the door, waiting there for his sister to join him.

"I shall stay here and make something to eat," Morrigan said. Tamara started towards the door, but paused by Morrigan's side.

"Thank you Morrigan," she said. Morrigan looked taken aback, as if she didn't know how to deal with people showing her gratitude. As a result she stumbled over her own words.

"I – You are welcome. Though mother did most of the work, I am no healer," Tamara nodded to her and then followed Taren out of the door.

They saw Alistair standing at the water's edge, looking out over the wilds, Morrigan's mother beside him, though she was looking back at the hut, watching them emerge.

"You see," she said to Alistair, "here are your fellow Grey Wardens now. You worry too much young man." Alistair spun around, relief clear upon his face, his own bandages just showing from under his armour.

"You, You're both alive," he breathed, "I thought you were dead for sure."

"We're fine," said Taren, clasping him on the shoulder, "We appreciate the concern."

"This cannot be real," he said dejectedly, "if it weren't for Morrigan's mother, we'd be dead on top of that tower."

"Do not talk about me as if I am not present lad," she reprimanded him.

"I – I didn't mean, but," Alistair stuttered, "what do we call you? You never told us your name."

"Names are pretty but useless," she said waving her arm at him, "The Chasind folk call me Flemeth, I suppose it will do." All three Wardens stared at her in shock. Surprisingly it was Alistair who got over that shock first.

"_The_ Flemeth … from the legends … Daveth was right, you're the witch of the wilds aren't you?" Alistair was obviously familiar with the legend, but while the twins had heard of the witch of the wilds, it was another legend that they were familiar with; after all, Flemeth was not a common name. Could this be the woman who was responsible for making their family noble? They didn't know, but they were now wary of this woman. If she was _the_ Flemeth, then she was hundreds of years old and very powerful.

"And what does that mean?" Flemeth asked, "I know a bit of magic and it has served you all well, has it not?" they all nodded, but the Tamara wanted to know what she wanted.

"So why did you save us?" she asked. Flemeth looked towards her with a calculating smile.

"Well," Flemeth mused, "we cannot have all the Grey Wardens dying at once, can we? Someone has to deal with these Darkspawn," She looked them over, taking in their measure, "it has always been the Grey Wardens duty to unite the lands against the blights, or did that change when I wasn't looking?"

"The land is hardly united, thanks to Loghain," Taren said, malice in his tone at the betrayer. Tamara had not trusted the man, said he felt shifty to her. Taren had not listened, telling her that she trusted no man outside of their family and that Loghain was haunty because he had fought in a war. His sister had protested, that father had fought in war and was not haunty, that Loghain looked at them as though they were the enemy, but he didn't listen. He shrugged off all of her arguments, believing that she was simply stressed over the situation; after all, if the king trusted him, then they should too.

"It doesn't make any sense," Alistair ground out, "Why would he do this?"

"Now that is a good question," Flemeth said, "men's hearts hold shadows darker than any tainted creature," she looked almost mournful, "perhaps he believes the blight is an army he can out manoeuvre, perhaps he does not see that the evil behind it is the true threat," She looked at Alistair.

"The Archdemon," Alistair agreed, nodding his head.

"What could the Teyrn hope to gain by betraying the king?" Tamara asked.

"The throne?" Alistair ventured, "He is the Queen's father." Tamara shook her head

"Anora would have to give up her position on the throne to make him her Regent, to do that she would have to go before the Landsmeet and put it to a vote with the other nobles. Loghain maybe a Teyrn, but he's also a commoner, he can't be Regent without approval from Anora and the Landsmeet, it just isn't done. Besides, we know Anora, she wouldn't give up her power easily, right Taren?" she looked at her brother expectantly who rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Normally you would be right sister, like always," he said, though he mumbled the last part. She raised her eyebrow at him and he continued, "You're forgetting that Anora is a daddy's girl who would do anything for her father. I'm also willing to bet that quite a few lords were lost at Ostagar …"

"Which means a true Landsmeet cannot be called until positions of power are handed to the next in line," Tamara continued, horrified at the prospect, "by which time …"

"Loghain will already be Regent," finished Taren. Tamara crossed her arms and bit her lip, something she always did when she didn't know what to do. Taren looked up at Alistair.

"What do we do then?" he asked and Alistair became panicked.

"I – I don't know!" he exclaimed, "Duncan said the Wardens of Orlais had been called and I know Arl Eamon will never stand for this." Tamara's head shot up.

"Arl Eamon Guerrin, the Arl of Redcliff?" she asked, shocked that Alistair seemed to know him.

"You know him?" Alistair asked, seeming just as shocked, but Tamara waved him off, realising he did not yet know that they were Couslands and not wanting him to know just yet.

"That doesn't matter, are you sure he would side with us over Loghain?" she asked.

"I suppose," he said, still slightly suspicious, "Arl Eamon wasn't at Ostagar, he still has all his men, and he was Cailan's uncle. I know him, he's a good man, respected in the Landsmeet. Of course we could go to him and appeal for help."

"Aren't there any other allies we could call upon?" Taren asked and Alistair lit up.

"The treaties! Grey Wardens can demand aid from Dwarves, Elves, Mages and other places. They're obligated to help us during a blight," he rushed out, getting excited. Taren and Tamara perked up, here was hope that they could actually fight for their home.

"I may be old," Flemeth interjected, "but Dwarves, Elves, Mages, this Arl Eamon and who know what else. This sounds like an army to me."

"So can we do this?" Alistair asked, looking at the twins, "Go to Redcliff and these other places and build an army?"

"I doubt it'll be as easy as that," Tamara said, wanting to hope for the best, but already preparing for the worst. Flemeth laughed.

"When is it ever?" she chuckled, "So you are set then," she said, suddenly serious, "ready to be Grey Wardens."

"Yes," said Taren, "thank you for everything, Flemeth."

"Oh no," she said waving her arms, "thank you Grey Wardens. Now before you go, there is yet one more thing I can offer you." Morrigan chose that moment to come out of the house. She walked up to them and stood beside her mother.

"The stew is bubbling mother dear, shall we have three guests for the eve, or none," she sounded as if she hoped there would be none.

"The Grey Wardens are leaving shortly girl," she said, "and you will be joining them."

"Such a shame … What?" her head snapped to look at her mother as she realised what her mother had said.

"You heard me girl, the last time I looked you had ears," Flemeth chortled. Tamara shifted from one foot to the other.

"Thank you, but if Morrigan doesn't wish to join us …" she trailed off uncomfortably. Taren knew why she was acting like this.

The last day that they spent at Highever Tamara had become infatuated with Iona, Lady Landra's elven handmaiden. She had invited the elven woman back to her room for some activities of the intimate kind. Iona had been killed by an arrow to the chest and Tamara blamed herself, for Iona's death and for the poor girl who had now been orphaned. She believed that if she had left Iona alone then she might have had a chance to escape the castle. Now she was worried that if Morrigan accompanied them, she too would die, perhaps in similar circumstances, perhaps not.

"Her magic will be useful to you and she knows these wilds well," Flemeth assured them.

"Have I no say in this?" Morrigan spluttered, outraged that her fate was being decided for her.

"You have been itching to get out of the wilds for years, here is your chance," it almost sounded as if Flemeth was mocking Morrigan, "As for you Wardens, consider this repayment for your lives." Taren looked at his sister who nodded reluctantly.

"Very well, we'll take her with us," he said, bowing his head in Flemeth's direction in thanks.

"Not to look a gift horse in the mouth," Alistair drew out, "but won't this add to our problems? Out of the wilds she's an apostate."

"If you do not wish help from us illegal mages young man, then perhaps I should've left you on that tower," she scolded him.

"Point taken," he mumbled while the twins snickered behind their hands.

"Mother," Morrigan drew Flemeth's attention, "this is not how I wanted this. I'm not even ready."

"You must be ready," Flemeth said wisely, "alone these three must unite Ferelden against the Darkspawn. They need you Morrigan, without you they will surely fail and all will perish under the blight, even I."

"I understand," she gave in.

"And you Wardens," she addressed the three, "do you understand? I give you that which I value above all in this world. I do this because you must succeed." Tamara looked up at her brother and then across at Alistair before looking back at Flemeth and taking a deep breath.

"We understand," she answered for them and Morrigan sighed.

"Allow me to get my things if you please," she said as she turned around and walked back into the hut. The three Wardens milled around by the door, waiting for Morrigan to return, none of them wanting to break the admittedly awkward silence. She finally remerged from the hut with a pack on her back.

"I am at your disposal Grey wardens," she said, melancholy in her voice, "I suggest a village north of the wilds as our first destination. Tis not so far and you will find much you need there. Or, if you prefer," she shifted uncomfortably, "I shall simply be your silent guide. The choice is yours." Tamara stepped towards her.

"No, I – we prefer you to speak your mind," she said, giving Morrigan a small smile. Flemeth laughed from where she stood watching them.

"You will regret saying that," she stated.

Tamara drowned out the little mother daughter spat that followed and turned to Alistair who was tapping her shoulder.

"What?" she hissed at him.

"It's just, do we really want to take her along because her mother says so?" he whispered to her.

"We need all the help we can get Alistair," she gave him the easiest reason and left it at that, despite there being other reasons for her to want Morrigan to accompany them.

"I guess you're right," he sighed, "the Grey Wardens have always taken allies where they could find them."

"I am so pleased to have your approval," Morrigan said, obviously having heard the end of their conversation, and Alistair blushed.

"I think we should just get under way," Taren commented, wishing to be on the move, he knew he wouldn't feel better until they were out of the wilds.

"Fare well mother, do not forget the stew on the fire. I would hate to return to a burned down hut," Morrigan said, still upset at being sent away.

"Tis far more likely you will return to see this entire area, along with my hut, swallowed up by the blight," Her mother huffed.

"I – all I meant was …" Morrigan's face grew concerned and Flemeth's face softened.

"Yes, I know," Flemeth said before returning to her slightly creepy, jovial self, "do try to have fun dear." With that said Morrigan began briskly walking away, the three Wardens hurrying to keep up with her, she only slowed down once the hut was out of sight.

As they made their way out of the wilds the twins looked back. They were all that stood between the blight and Ferelden and this time they couldn't fail.

* * *

So there is the third chapter. How do you think I'm doing?


End file.
